Machine for folding wrappers around rectangular tablets.



F. GROVER. MACHINE FOR FOLDING WRAPPERS AROUND RECTANGULAR TABLETS.

APPLIOATION FILED 00T.11,1912.

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F. GROVER. MAGHINE FOR FOLDING WRAPPERS AROUND RECTANGULAR TABLETS.

APPLICATION FILED 0OT.11,1912.

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F. GROVER. MACHINE FOR FOLDING WRAPPEES AROUND RECTANGULAR TABLETS.APPLICATION FILED OGT. 11, 1912. 1 075,033 Patented Oct. 7, 1913. 3SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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FREDERICK onovnn, or LEEDS, ENGLAND, assl'e'rnon To 'rnn rono'n'ovnMACHINERY COMPANY LIMrrnn, e

E 113E133, ENGLAND.

lviAOI-IINE F012, FOLDING WBIAX EERS AROUND RECTANGULAR, TABLETS.

Application filed October 11, 1912.

T 0 all whom 2'6 may concern Be it known that I, FREDERICK Gnovnn, asubject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Leeds, in the countyof York, England, engineer, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Machines for Folding l/Vrappers Around RectangularTablets, and of which the following is a specification.

This invention refers to wrapping machines for folding wrappers aroundrectangular tablets, such as cubical blocks, and in which the machineoperates at times upon more than one of the articles to be wrapped.

The machine to which the present invention refers belongs to that typein which the tablets are carried between top and bottom verticalplungers through an opening, so that the wrapper is folded up on eachside and then is advanced horizontally during the succeeding foldingoperations, the succeeding tablet to be wrapped being commenced to bedealt with by the machine before the wrapping of the preceding tablet isfinished.

The present invention refers particularly to the arrangements wherebythe vertical plungers are permitted to have their vertical movements toreceive and deal with a successive or second tablet imn'iediately thefirst tablet is traversed by a horizontal plunger or pusher into thehorizontal channel in which the successive folding operations areaccomplished, and without in fact waiting for the withdrawal of the saidhorizontal plunger; the said vertical plungers have also such verticalmovements, that they rise above the folding mechanism to receive thetablet and the wrapper, being constructed of flat formation and arrangedto constitute a cross when placed end to end in order not only to effecta secure grip of the tablet but also to enable the bottom plunger toconveniently pass upward during the operation of the horizontal plungerimmediately the latter has forced the first tablet into the horizontaltrough.

In the machine according to the present invention it is explained that atablet to be wrapped is seized between two springheld members of acompound slide, and so advanced on to the wrapper; the tablet and thewrapper are then grasped between the upper and lower vertical plungers,the un- Speoificaticn of Letters Patent.

latentedflct. Z, 1913-. Scria1hl0. 725,122.

planes which act to separate the spring-held. members of the slide andrelease the tablet. The tablet and its wrapper having been carried downby the vertical plungers into the trough-like structure, through anopening therein by which both edges of the wrapper are turned into anupstanding position, a horizontal slide in the trough-like structurefolds over one side of the wrapper and a forked horizontal pusher orplunger forces the partly wrapped tablet and its wrapper beneath a lidor top member of the trough, whereby the other side of the wrapper isfolded over the tablet. As soon as the tablet so partly wrapped has beenmoved by the iorizontal pusher to beneath the top member of thetrough-like structure, the lower plunger immediately rises, passingbetween the bifurcated members of the pusher rod in order, inconjunction with the upper plunger, to support and seize the next tabletand wrapper which is to be dealt with. During the time the plungers areelfecting the movement just described, tucking lingers are verticallymoved downward upon each side of the tablet in the trough, and thesefingers tuck in the portions of the wrapper, and then outer horizontalslides tuck in the rearward ends of the wrappers and retire. On theretiring of the push and of the outer slides, the vertical plungersbring the next tablet and wrapper into position and when the wrapper ofthis second tablet has re ceived its folds and is in its turn forced bythe bifurcated pusher along the trough, it forces in front of it thefirst tablet, the remaining folds of the wrapper of which are elfectedby stationary guides in the trough.

In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a partsectional end elevation and a part sectional side elevation of a machinefor folding wrappers around cubical tablets, constructed in accordancewith my invention. Figs. 3 and 4 are re spectively a part sectional sideelevation and a part sectional plan of a portion of the same machine,clearly illustrating the wrapping mechanism. Fig. 5 is a transversesection of a portion of the wrapping mechanism, drawn to an enlargedscale, taken on the line A B of Fig. 8 looking in the direction of thearrow at, and Fig. 6 is a similar sectional view taken on the same lineAB but looking in the direction of the arrow y, while Fig. 7 is afurther transverse section of the machine carries amain drivingshaft 2,which imparts rotary motion to a series of cams adapted to actuate thewrapping mechanism through the medium of rocking levers pivoted eitheron stationary shafts 3, .t or on a stationary bracket 5. The tablets 6to be wrapped (only one of which is shown, as at Fig. 1), are fedforward bya traveling belt 7 carried by two pulleys 8, 9 actuatedintermittently through the medium of ratchet gearing 1O operated by cammechanism 11 while the wrappers 12 are contained in a box 13 over whichis located a disk 1 1 mounted on a sleeve 1e carried on a vertical shaft15 and rotated intermittently step-by-step through the medium ofratchet-mechanism 16 coupled by link and lover connections 17 to a cam18. The disk 1ft is adapted to be depressed at each interval of restthrough a cam and lever mechanism 19 coupled up to its sleeve 14 and thesaid disk l l is provided with depending pins 14 which, by means of anadhesive applied thereto by rollers 20 rotating in a gum-trough 21, arecaused to pick up the wrappers 12 singly and carry them to a position toreceive the tablets 6 fed forward by the belt 7 The belt 7 carries thetablets to be wrapped which are placed upon the belt singly, andadjacent to the belt, as shown. in Fig. 1, is a bracket 22 carrying aflat table top at about the level of the top length of the belt and uponwhich table top of the bracket 22 is fixed an inverted box casing 22*.Slidab-le endwise within the casing 22 is a U-shaped pusher 25, the twoends of which are pivoted to link and lever connections 28 operated by aam 27 so that the U-shaped pusher is intermittently reciprocated.

Slidable between the arms of the J-shaped usher 25 and within the casing22 is a slide 23 having anupstanding headformed with an incline 23 andcarrying at its forward end two depending fingers 24; a compressionspring, clearly shown atFig. 1 is fitted between the closed end of the"ti-shaped pusher 25 and the rear part of the slide 23, so that thetendency of the slide is to move rearward between the arms of theU-shaped pusher and to bring the fingers 2% nearer to the closed forwardend of the U-shaped pusher so as to grip the tablet when requiredbetween the fingers 2dand the forward end of the U-shaped pusher. 1n theposition shown in Fig. 1 the fingers 2d are prevented approaching theforward end of the-pusher 25 because th upstanding forward end of theslide 23 is abutting against the stationary casing Obviously as soon asthe pusher 25 is advanced toward the left hand as shown in Fig. 1 bymeans of the lever and cam arrangements which operate it, theadvancement of the U-shaped pusher will be coincident with a slightrearward movement of the slide 23', and consequently the tablet 6standing upon the belt will immediately grasped between the forward endof the pusher 25 and the fingers 2 of the slide; In this way the tabletwill. be carried forward off the belt 7 into posi-- tion over and uponthe w 'apper .which is held beneath it by the pins l l of the disk 1%which at this time will be stationary. Beneath the carried wrapper ontoand above which the tablet has been thus fed, and is held, is mounteda stationary horizontal table 29, in conjunction with which are provideda top plunger 30 and a bottom plunger 31, the top plunger 30 beingcarried by a bracket 15 fixed to the shaft 15 which is verticallyreciprocated by a cam 32 through the medium of pivoted links and levers33, while the bottom plunger 31 passes thr ugh an aperture 31 in thetable 29 and is reciprocated vertically by a cam 3 ft through the mediumof a pivoted lever 35. The lower plunger 31 is moved vertically itsupper end passing through and above the table 29 until its end comesbelow the wrapper and tablet, while the upper plunger 30 advancesdownward, so that the tablet and wrapper are gripped above the table 29between th ends of the plungers. The plungers then carry the saidwrapper and tablet together downward, while cam surfaces 30* formed onthe plunger30 sinultaneously engage corresponding inclined surfaces 23on the spring-slide 23 so as to release the grip of the dependingfingers 24 upon the tablet to allow of this downward movement. 7

On the table 29 are fixed a stationary bracket 36 and a stationarychannel 37 composed of a pair of side walls 37 fitted with a weightedlid 38 having a projecting portion 38 see Fig. 1, the adjacent ends ofsaid bracket 36 and lid 38 being spaced apart a distance equal to thewidth of a single tablet; and on the descent of the plungers 30, 31before referred to, the tablet 6 and its wrapper 12 are carried downwardbetween the projecting portion 38 of the lid 38 and the upper endportion of the bracket 36, by which the sides of the wrapper 12 areturned into an upstanding position upon the tablet 6 (see Fig. 8).

The bracket 36 is fitted'internally with a top slide 39 resting upon aninner bifurcated pusher 4L0 and a pair of outer slides tl (shown moreparticularly in Figs. 3 to 5), which top slide 39, pusher 40 and outerslides 41 are respectively connected to levers 12, 43, 14 pivoted to thestationary bracket 5. and actuated by face-cams 41-2, 13

4 1* to impart an intermittent reciprocating motion to the said slideand pusher, so as to first cause the top slide 39 to move forward andlie over one upstanding side of the wrapper 12 upon the upper surface ofthe tablet 6 (see Fig. 9) and then to cause the inner pusher 40 to moveforward so as to push the tablet G and its wrapper 12 along the table 29to beneath the projecting portion 33 of the weighted lid 38 of thechannel 37 by which the other upstanding side of the wrapper 12 is laidover upon the upper surface of the tablet 6 (see Fig. 10). At thismoment the top and bottom plungers 30, 31 pass upward to receive asecondv wrapper and tablet.

At opposite sides of the projecting portion 38 of the weighted lid 3 areprovided end tucking fingers 15 formed on a bracket 4-6 carried by avertically reciprocating shaft 4:? actuated through a lever 4-8 and cam4:9 so as to cause the said fingers 15 to descend and simultaneouslyturn down the two upper projecting ends of the wrapper 12 upon the endsof the tablet 6 (as shown at Fig. 11) while the said tablet is beneaththe projection 38 of the weighted lid 38, after which the outer slides41 are moved forward so as to tuck in the rear projecting ends 05' thewrapper 12 on the tablet 6 as shown at Fig. 12). The top and bottomplungers 30, 31 having by this time grasped between them a second tabletand wrapper, descend, and bring the said second tablet and wrapper downon to the table 29 adjacent to the partially wrapped first tablet 6still beneath the projection 38 of the weighted lid 38 of the channel37. The consequent upturning of the sides of the wrap per of the secondtablet and the subsequent folding over of the rear side of the wrapperupon the second tablet having been effected as with the first tablet,then the forward movement of this second tablet to beneath projectingportion 38 of the weighted lid 38 to turn down the other upstanding sideof the wrapper of the second tablet has the efiect of moving forward thefirst tablet 6 into the channel 37. The channel 37 is provided with apair of fixed tapering camplates 50 carried by blocks 51 formed withprojecting fingers 51 by which latter the front projecting ends of thewrapper 12 are tucked in upon the said first tablet 6 (see Fig. 13). Thesecond tablet is treated in like manner to the first,and by continuingthese operations the tablets are passed into the channel 37 one behindthe other, the final turning-up of the projecting lower ends of thewrappers upon their tablets being effected by means of sloping grooves5O provided between the tapering cam-plates 50 and the correspondinglytapered front ends of the side walls 37 of the channel 37, which slopinggrooves 50 guide the said projecting lower ends of the wrapper 12 intoan upstanding position against the tablet 6 (as shown at Fig. 14) duringthe time the latter is being moved along the channel 37 toward thedelivery end and so complete the wrapping of the said tablet.

The plungers 30, 31 are of flat formation and so arranged as toconstitute a cross when placed end to end in order to not only effect asecure grip upon the tablet but also to enable the bottom plunger 31 topass up between the bifurcations of the pusher 40 to grip a secondtablet during the time the first tablet is engaged by the said pusher,whereby the speed at which the tablets are delivered on to the table 29is materially increased with a consequent increase of output.

The operation of the machine will now be briefly set out, although thesame will doubtless have been understood from the foregoing description:-Each tablet to be wrapped is singly placed on the traveling belt 7 andupon a tablet arriving at the feed mechanism it is gripped between thedepending fingers 2+l of the spr'ng slide 23 and the end of the forkedpusher 25, and advanced and held above and upon a single w *apper whichis ca rried on the depending pins of the disk 14. The tablet and wrapperare thus held abovethe horizontal table 29 upon which the foldingoperations are carried out; the bottom plunger 31 rises through thetable and between the bifurcated members of the pusher 10 to beneath thewrapper, while the top plunger descends and with its cam surfaces 30releases the tablet from the feed device 23, 25. So held, the plungerscarry the tablet and wrapper downward between the plates 36 and 38whereby the sides of the wrapper are folded upward, see F 8. The slide39 is moved forward and immediately turns down one side of the wrapper,see Fig. 9. The pusher 40, Fig. 4, at once moves for- Ward and pushesthe tablet and wrapper beneath the part 38 folding down the remainingside of the wrapper. At this time the bottom plunger 31 rises throughthe hole 31 in the table 29 and passes between the bifurcations, of thepusher 4:0 continuing upward. until its upper end comes beneath thesecond wrapper and tablet which is to be operated upon. During thismovement of the vertical plungers the tucking fingers 41-5 are carriedvertically downward on each side of the projecting part 38 and tuck inthe top ends of the wrapper, and then the outer slides 4-1 are advancedand tuck in the rear ends of the wrapper. The vertical plungers 30, 31bring down the second wrapper and tablet and the folding operations arecarried out on this second wrapper as on the first. When the pusher l0advances the second tablet and wrapper beneath the projecting end 3S ofthe lid 38 the first partially wrapped tablet is further advancedthrough the channel and the forward sides of the wrapper are tucked inby the plates 50, after which, as the tablet is advanced in the channel,the lower ends of the wrapper enter the space below the inclined platesand are turned upward, and so the tablets are delivered in a wrappedcondition at the end of the channel. r

I claim as my invention:

1. In machines of the type specified for folding wrappers aroundrectangular tablets, and in which a wrapper and tablet are supportedabove an opening formed be tween the forward projecting end of the lidof a trough, and a plate carried on the table of the machine throughwhich opening said wrapper and tablet are forced to turn two oppositesides of the Wrapper in a vertical direction, the combination with anupper plunger adapted to bear upon the said tablet, a lower plunger ofnarrow oblong rectangular cross section to support said wrapper andtablet above said opening, and means for effecting the verticalreciprocations of said upper and lower plungers, of a forkedreciprocating slide moved in one direction to force the partiallywrapped tablet into said trough and to permit the said lower plunger torise to its upper position for supporting another tablet and wrapperbefore the forked reciprocating slide is moved in the oppositedirection, and means for reciprocating the said forked slide.

2. In machines of the type specified for folding. wrappers aroundrectangular tab the machine throu h which openin said t: .L b V wrapperand tablet are forced to'turn two opposite sides of the wrapper. in a,vertical d1rect1on; the combinatlon wlth a lower 1 plunger of narrowoblong rectangular cross section to support said wrapper and tabletabove said opening, an'upper plunger of similar cross section to contactwith the upper surface of said tablet and force said wrapper and tabletthrough said'opening,

the major dimensions of said cross sections of said plungers beingarranged at right angles to one another, and means for effect ing thevertical reciprocations of said plunger; of a forked reciprocating slidemoved in one direction to force the partially wrapped tablet into saidtrough and to permit the said lower plunger to rise to its upperposition'for supporting another tablet and wrapper before the forkedreciproeating slide is moved in the opposite direction, and means forreciprocating the said forked slide.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

FREDERICK GROVER.

Witnesses:

JOHN Jownrr, NELLIE KNArroN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

